Average Briton Spends One Year Of Life Watching TV Soap Opera

The average Briton spends almost a year of their life watching soap operas, a survey showed.

Nearly 33.9 million people said they watch at least one soap episode a week and on average people spend 143 minutes catching up with their favourite shows, according to the Dalepak research.

That equates to 336 days spent in front of the television over the course of an average lifetime.

Anne Claypole, marketing manager for Dalepak, said: "We Brits love nothing more than to watch our favourite soaps, they are part of our cultural make-up and we love them because of that.

"However, it is extraordinary to think that on average we spend a year of our lives sat in front of the television watching our favourite soaps.

"For many people soaps have become like extended members of the family and they wonder what they would do without them."

Almost a quarter of men said they prefer watching soap operas to spending time with their partner or their children.

Just over 15% of women said they enjoyed watching the likes of EastEnders or Coronation Street more than spending time with their partner or children.

The survey also asked people about their favourite villains and soap storylines.

Coronation Street serial killer Richard Hillman (16%) was voted top soap villain ahead of EastEnders' Dirty Den (15%) and Nick Cotton (13%) while the best plot ever was won by EastEnders with its 2001 Phil Mitchell murder mystery storyline, which landed 15% of the vote.